Locking paper clip



Oct. 20, 1942. c. A. ROLFSON 2,299,496

LOCKING PAPER CLIP Filed March 29, 1941 iuvrgnmn cnnueuus A. ROLFSUN AUORNEY M Patented Oct. 20, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to paper clips.

My invention is comprised of a single piece of spring metal made in the form of a double loop, with the looped ends being outwardly extending from each other, and with the terminal ends of the metal from which the clip is made being offset inwardly to permit the offset end of the clip engaging the sheets that are to be held together by the clip and to permit the premature dislodgement of the clip from the sheet.

Where extra heavy Work is to be performed, added protection is afforded, preventing premature dislodgement by serrating the surface of the clip on the side that engages the sheets that are to be held together.

Heretofore in clips of the conventional design, time was required in the placing of the clip upon the sheets to which the same are to be attached.

Through the use of my new and improved clip design, they may be placed upon the sheets with great facility, and thereafter they may be turned to the side to permit the offset ends of the clip being made to engage the sheets in locked re" lationship therewith. When it is desired to remove the clip from the sheets, it is turned in the opposite direction, to thereby remove the offset ends of the clip from engaging with the sheet, to permit the removal of the clip from the sheets without in any way damaging the sheet at the point where the offset ends engage the same.

The primary purpose and object of my invention is to provide a clip that may be attached to sheets with dispatch.

A further object of my invention consists in providing a clip which, when turned in one direction will permit its disengagement from t? sheets without distorting the sheets, but which when turned in the opposite direction will cause a driving relationship between the points of the clip and the sheets, to prevent its premature dislodgement therefrom.

A still further object of my invention consists in providing a clip having offset ends and opposite corrugated surfaces that will maintain the clip upon the sheets to prevent premature dislodgement, and yet when turning the same through 90 degrees permits the disengagement of the ofiset ends and the corrugated surfaces from contacting the sheets that are to be held together.

With these and incidental objects in view, the

construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter shown with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. I is a side View of one of my new and improved clips, shown in position for being attached. In this view the slip is shown in normal position, in full line, and is shown in dotted position, and illustrating the sprung condition of the adjacent ends of the clip when the same I is being attached to a sheet of material.

Fig. II is a front View of the clip illustrated in Fig. I, illustrating the same in place upon a sheet. The clip is shown in clamping position in dotted line in which the side walls of the clip are then in contact that are to be secured together.

Fig. III is an end view of the clip, shown in place upon a plurality of sheets that are to be secured together and illustrating in end position, but with the broad sufaces of the clip being yet disposed at right angles to the sheet to which the same is to be attached.

Fig. IV is an end View of the clip, shown in place upon the sheets, and illustrating the same in full clamping position.

Fig. V is an end View of the clip, shown in place upon sheets that are to be secured together, but illustrating the clip turned at right angles, to place the offset ends of the clip out of surface contact with the sheets to be secured together, to permit its free removal from the sheets.

Fig. VI is a fragmentary side view of the clip, illustrating the offset ends of the clip as being in clamping position.

Fig. VII is a fragmentary side View of the clip, illustrating the clip as having offset ends and illustrating the clip as being deformed immediately adjacent its ends to form a plurality of spaced points that are made to engage the sheets to prevent premature disengagement therefrom.

Fig. VIII is a side View of the clip shown in normal position for being removed from the sheet, with the offset ends and the deformed surface immediately adjacent the edge being shown as turned out to prevent contact with the surface of the sheets and to permit its easy removal from the sheets.

Fig. IX is a side view of the clip, illustrated in Fig. VIII, but illustrating the same as having invention consists in certain novel features of been turned through degrees, in which position the same is normally used when clamping the sheets together.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

I have here shown my clip as being made of spring wire with the wire preferably being made cylindrical in cross section.

I form a reversed bend intermediate the ends I and 2 of the wire, as illustrated at 3, and I form additional loops 4 and between the intermediate loop 3, to form terminal legs 6 and I of the material. Heretofore the legs 6 and 1 and that portion of the wire, as illustrated at 8 and 9, that is disposed between the loops 3 and 4 and the loops 3 and 5 being substantially parallel in the conventional clip. When so made the clip is flat and difficulty is experienced in attaching th clip to the sheets that are to be secured together.

I form my clip in the shape as illustrated in full line position in Fig. I. In order to prevent the premature dislodgement of the clip from the sheets, I offset the terminal ends of the clip, as illustrated at if! and H in Fig. VI. This forms engaging corners, as illustrated at [2 and I3, that grip the sheets [4 at the point of engagement, to prevent the premature dislodgement of the clip from the sheet to which the same was to be attached.

To further increase the attaching tendency, I deform the adjacent sides of the legs 6 and I of the clip, as illustrated in detail in Fig. VII, as illustrated at [5 and it. This, together with the offset ends, provides a clip that may not be prematurely disengaged from the sheets to which the same is to be attached.

In the clip of the conventional type, this was inefiicient because when it was desired to remove the clip from the sheets, the same often ruptured the sheets at th point of contact of the offset ends, and of the engaging saw-like teeth 15 and In the attaching of the clip to the sheet, the

7 clip either at the loop 4 or at the loop 5 is clamped between the thumb and finger of the user, and the same is placed upon the sheet.

By turning the same in clamping, locking position, as illustrated in Fig. IV, the offset ends H and I8 are made to engage the surface of the sheet to prevent its premature dislodgement; but

by turning the clip through 180 degrees, as ilr lustrated in Fig. V, the ofiset ends [9 and 25 are outwardly turned to place the same out of surface contact with the'sheets 2! to which the same is attached to place the engaging corners l2 and E3 of the clip out of surface engagement with In Fig. VIII the clip is shown with the offset ends 22 and 23 as being outwardly turned to permil; the free removal of the clip from th sheet. The deformed surfaces adjacent the offset ends 22 and 23, as illustrated at 24 and 25, are also shown out of surface contact with the sheet to which the clips are to be attached.

Particular attention is invited to the disclosure illustrated in Fig. I. In this View the terminal ends I and 2, as disclosed in full line position, are so positioned as to overlap the ends at a substantial distance from the ends.

The clip being made of spring metal, when a sheet of material is forced into placement between the respective legs 6 and 1, causes an internal stress to be created within the material because of the necessity of forcing the legs 6 and 1 sufficiently apart to permit the sheets of material being passed therethrough that are to be secured in place by the clip.

When the hand of the applicator is released from the clip, due to the stress created within the metal, the clip will then turn sidewise upon the sheet, as illustrated in Fig. IV and in Fig. V. If the sheets are to be locked together by the clip, it is turned as illustrated in Fig. IV. When the clip is to be removed from the sheets it is turned into the position as illustrated in Fig. V.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention t the embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. A paper clip made of a single piece, said clip having a reverse bend intermediate its ends, and the legs thus formed each having a loop disposed therein, with the terminal ends of the legs thus formed having ofisets disposed therein, with the leg rearwardly from the offset being deformed on the side upon which the offset is disposed, and the angle of the adjacent legs from the central loop disposed between the ends forming an acute angle.

2. A paper clip made from cylindrical spring wire, the said wire being bent into a loop intermediate its ends, with the adjacent legs thus formed being disposed at an acute angle relative to each other, the legs thus formed being bent intermediate their ends, with the ends of the wire being inwardly ofiset to place offset ends extending toward each other.

3. A paper clip made from a single piece of spring wire, and the wire for forming the clip being offset at its ends, and said offsets being extending in the same direction, the body of the clip having three loops formed therein, with the intermediate one of the loops having less curvature than the othertwo, and the adjacent legs which contain the offset parts forming an acute angle.

CORNELIUS A. ROLFSON. 

